Iowa Fails To Net Indiana In Trap

Iowa coach George Raveling felt that way Sunday when his team trailed Indiana by 19 midway in the second half. Raveling stalked the sidelines like a caged lion, roaring at the referees.

What happened in the last 13 minutes won`t be remembered as the all-time Hawkeye comeback, because Indiana hung on for an 80-73 victory. Even so, Hoosier fans in the packed house of 17,102 departed with sweaty palms after the visitors sprung a defensive trap, turning a nationally televised rout by Indiana into a tense struggle.

The nearly miraculous turn of events ended only when Iowa missed two chances to take the lead with 2:20 to go. With his team trailing 70-69, the Hawkeyes` Brad Lohaus failed on a wide-open shot, but the rebound trickled through two Hoosiers to Ed Horton, and his 10-footer also bounced away.

That gave staggering Indiana enough of a respite to get the ball to bailout specialist Steve Alford. He did the job, hitting two jumpers from deep in the left corner.

``The team looks to me in those situations,`` said Alford, who led all scorers with 25 points. ``They set me up. All I have to do is catch the ball and make sure it goes in.``

It wasn`t quite that easy, but Indiana (20-6 overall), staggered back into a tie with Michigan for the Big 10 lead at 12-4. That insured more drama for the final weekend, with the title up for grabs when Indiana visits Michigan State (20-6, 11-5) Wednesday and Michigan (25-4) Saturday.

``I`m as proud of this team as any I`ve coached here, because they work so hard,`` said Indiana`s Bobby Knight. ``One of our goals this season was to win 20 games, and we did that today.

``The main thing is that we`re going into the last week with a shot at the Big 10 championship.``

The hoped-for title tour almost got derailed Sunday. Instead of folding after trailing by 18 points in the first half, and later by 19, Raveling`s players fanned the spark of his intensity into a four-alarm fire.

A surge of emotion gripped the visitors when their coach was hit with his second technical with 13:06 left. Alford sank both free throws, and Indiana led 64-45.

The Hoosiers relaxed, then got snared in an Iowa onslaught triggered by a ferocious zone trap. Raveling used all 12 of his players to keep the heat on. Horton, Gerry Wright and Jeff Moe finished with 12 points each, Andre Banks 11.

In the next 9 1/2 minutes, Iowa forced 8 turnovers and outscored Indiana 21-6. The rally ended with those missed shots by Lohaus and Horton, plus a lot of screaming about alleged missed calls.

If the fans were limp when Sunday`s thriller finally ended, referees George Solomon, Darwin Brown and Gil Haggart must have felt like three bundles of wet wash. They tried to get things under control early by calling technicals on Raveling and Knight within 30 seconds of each other, but the players continued to pound each other in hand-to-hand combat for every rebound and loose ball.

Indiana got the best of it, especially in the opening half, when its front line of Daryl Thomas, Andre Harris and Rick Calloway outscored Iowa`s starting trio of Wright, Roy Marble and Al Lorenzen 25-10 and outrebounded them 17-3. Raveling was questioning almost every call by then, and after the game, he cut loose with a blast at the Big 10`s officiating.

``Something has to be done, or we`re going to ruin a good league,``

Raveling said. ``You can bet your butt I`ll be reprimanded Monday morning, but there comes a time when a man has to speak up.

``The Big 10 deserves a better quality of officiating. It`s gonna affect our teams in the NCAA tournament. No Southeast Conference, ACC or Pac-10 referee will let us play the physical kind of game we did today.``

Knight disagreed on that point.

``After what we`ve seen in the Big 10 the last few years, we`re ready for anything, even no officials,`` he said. ``You`ll see drastic changes next season. Bob Wortman (Big 10 supervisor of officials) is working hard to get something accomplished.``

Some of Sunday`s calls were easy to make, like the deliberate foul slapped on Iowa`s Horton for elbowing Thomas in the first half. Indiana fans were incensed, but Thomas` mature reaction to the incident cooled things off. ``Ed wasn`t trying to hurt me,`` said the Indiana center. ``He was trying to post me up and just hit me in the mouth with his elbow.``

But the defensive play of the game, by Indiana`s Todd Meier, got everybody upset, because there was loud, visible contact--and no call. Iowa`s Bill Jones drove the baseline in the closing minutes, plowing into Meier and Harris. Meier blocked Jones` lay-up, all three went sprawling and Harris came out of the pile with the ball.

``I count it as a big possession,`` said Harris, unable to conceal a grin. ``Todd switched off on Jones, so he should get the credit.``

``I saw Jones had Winston Morgan beaten by a step, so I established my position on the baseline,`` Meier said. ``I was standing there, and he knocked me down.``